The present invention is directed toward a remote overhead anchor and more particularly, toward such a remote overhead anchor adapted to be secured to a ring or other overhead anchor point to support a worker along with a personal fall arrest or protection system and which cannot accidentally disconnect from the overhead anchor point.
When a workman is working in high places in buildings and other structures, OSHA and the safety rules and regulations in most states and foreign countries require the use of a personal fall arrest or protection device. Such devices protect a workman from injury by quickly slowing and then stopping further downward motion in the event the workman falls from an elevated position. Such fall protection devices are, per se, well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,511,123 and 5,829,548, both of which issued to the present applicant. The entire contents of these prior parents are incorporated herein by reference.
In use, the workman wears a harness which is connected to a retractable cable coming from the fall protection device. In order for the system to operate properly, however, the cable must extend downwardly from a position above (or at least at or near the height) where the workman is working. This requires that either the fall protection device or at least a pulley for the cable be located at an elevated position above the workman.
Unfortunately, there are many situations where there simply is no anchor or like in the vicinity of where the fall protection device or cable pulley must be located. Frequently, there is nothing present but overhead rafters or beams or similar structures. A solution to this problem is to hang a strap over the beam and use the strap as an anchor point. The strap is comprised of a length of strong webbing or other flexible fabric material that has a D-ring or O-ring at each end. One of the rings is larger than the other. After the strap is hung over the beam, the smaller ring is passed through the larger one. The smaller ring becomes the anchor point.
A problem did exist as to how to get the strap in position over the beam. Climbing a ladder to place the strap in position creates more of a safety problem and obviously makes the situation even more dangerous. This problem was solved by the current inventor's invention of a remote anchor installation tool as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,469,025, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
With the ring or other anchor point in place, a long pole (such as shown in the '025 patent) can be used to connect or remove an anchor or hook which carries the fall protection device or the cable from the fall protection device. While this, by itself, is not a difficult task, safety rules require that there be a means for preventing the anchor from inadvertently disengaging the anchor point. Having a spring latch such as used in a carabiner or the like is not sufficient. The rules require that the latch be locked closed so that the anchor cannot inadvertently fall off. This creates a difficult problem when the anchor is high above the around.
A need exists, therefore, for a fall protection anchor that makes it easy for a worker from the ground to quickly place the same in position overhead and which makes it easy to remove the same while still preventing the inadvertent disengagement of the anchor.